Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 247 - 31 The Mountain Rain is about to Fall

Chapter 247 -31 The Mountain Rain is about to Fall

“Crawl, grasp my hand.”

At the border between the Wizard Control Zone and the Morick Empire, a female Fire Lizard called out to her child to grasp her hand, while below the child, a male Fire Lizard was lifting his child up as high as he possibly could.

Around the female, a group of Fire Lizards, whose strength was at most that of a senior Knight, waited for the last family in the group. Although this family had slowed down the group’s pace, they still had not been abandoned by the group.

Speeding up the march would not allow them to evade the patrol teams, but that child named Crawl, who appeared a bit silly, had a way of uplifting everyone’s spirits.

Their location was at the corner of the Ashen Mountains of the Morick Empire, a mountain range extending thousands of kilometers which served as a natural dividing line for both the Fire Lizards and the Wizards.

What this group of Fire Lizards was doing was the legendary act of smuggling.

The war between the Wizards and the Fire Lizards had been ongoing for thirty-five years, and taxation within the Fire Lizard Empire had been increasingly incremented. In certain regions, under the demands of some corrupt officials, seventy percent of the yearly revenue had to be surrendered to the Empire.

Very few Fire Lizards could withstand this level of taxation.

Uprisings and civil unrest broke out intermittently within the Three Great Empires, with those in the Linksa Empire even spreading across half of the Empire, requiring Commander Balashar of the Dragon Beast Knight Order to dispatch troops personally for suppression.

Under the oppressive taxation, the brilliance of the Fire Lizard King had dimmed, and among the Fire Lizards, there was a rumor that the Wizards had no interest in ordinary Fire Lizards. In that dark realm, untouched by the Fire Lizard King’s light, even the Fire Dragon Grass grew more luxuriantly.

The female Fire Lizard pulled with all her might, bringing her child into her embrace, and as soon as the male Fire Lizard below saw that his child was safe, he quickly climbed up.

The group eyed the gray mountain hollow not far off—once they passed through this hollow, they would be entering the Wizard Control Zone.

At that point, a vast land awaited them, free to move about and live as they pleased.

“Let’s go,” said the Fire Lizard leading the group. “We need to move quickly and try to get through this hollow before sunset.”

Hearing this, the others remained silent, only gripping the sticks for climbing tighter in their hands.

It was finally coming to an end.

The leader of the group went first, and the others followed. The Ashen Mountains were rife with obsidian, which, when shattered, was as sharp as a steel blade. If one were to roll down the mountain, they’d be lucky to die halfway down; the less lucky ones would be as if they’d rolled down a hill of knives, their bodies lacerated as if they’d been put to death by slow slicing.

Suddenly, a Fire Lizard slipped and tumbled down the slope, quickly becoming bloodstained from abrasions against the obsidian.

“Save me! Save me!”

But all the other Fire Lizards silently turned their gaze away—the Fire Lizard was beyond saving.

Shortly, the Fire Lizard collided with a massive piece of obsidian, and its head bore a gaping bloody hole.

There were sighs among the Fire Lizards; they had seen such scenes many times and had grown numb inside.

After half a day’s journey, the group finally came down the mountain. Past this hollow, they would escape the harsh taxation and encounter a new life.

“Halt, you traitors!”

A voice echoed from the mountain top, and the Fire Lizards turning around saw an individual clad in a red robe, with a golden Dragon Claw Shield emblazoned on their chest, looking at them.

“Cease your movement now, or I will treat you like the traitors you are!”

The Fire Lizard leader saw the emblem on the red-robed Fire Lizard’s chest and went pale.

“It’s Merrick’s Shield!”

Merrick’s Shield, an organization that had rapidly risen amidst the war against the Wizards.

Under the leadership of Azuhan and Akala, Merrick’s Shield had become the Jinyiwei of the Morick Empire, encompassing investigations, arrests, trials, and imprisonment. Completely independent of the judiciary, it answered directly to the Fire Lizard King.

In the campaign against the Black Wizards within Morick, Merrick’s Shield had shown remarkable effectiveness.

Among the Three Great Empires, the Morick Empire was the least affected by the Black Wizards, followed by the Mias Empire, which had the shortest frontline with the Wizards. As for the Linksa Empire… the Black Wizards could even control the candidates for Linksa’s Eye. Had it not been for the operations of the Dragon Beast Base causing heavy losses to the Black Wizards, the Linksa Empire would by now have become a garden for the Black Wizards.

To reduce the efficiency of Merrick’s Shield, the Black Wizards began spreading rumors among the populace, painting Merrick’s Shield as a dark organization that wantonly took lives and killed at whim.

In the present Morick Empire, fearmongering phrases such as “Behave, or Merrick’s Shield will take you away” had even begun to scare children.

The group, staring at the Fire Lizard at the mountain top, suddenly heard someone shout.

“Run! Better to die here than to be captured by them!”

In an instant, the entire group scattered in all directions, running desperately towards the dark lands beyond the hollow, not illuminated by the Fire Lizard King.

Seeing this, the Fire Lizard standing atop the mountain couldn’t help but show a wry smile.

Had you stayed, this could have been as if it had never happened. But now that you’re fleeing, I can only fulfill my duty.

He drew a Black Gold Scimitar from his waist, then leaped from the summit.

Before Merrick’s Shield’s elite forces, these ordinary civilian Fire Lizards stood no chance.

Before long, the Fire Lizard reached the last one in the group.

The small fellow looked around dumbly, seemingly not understanding what was happening. Beside him, a female Fire Lizard lay on the ground, her neck half-severed by a sharp piece of obsidian.

“Child, what’s your name?”

“… Crawl.”

“Crawl, huh? That’s a good name; my son is also called Crawl.”

“Mister, what’s wrong with my mom? She’s bleeding a lot.”

The Fire Lizard did not reply; he did not know how to explain the meaning of death to the little one before him.

He walked over to Crawly and lifted him up from the ground.

There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in his heart about killing these traitors. Treason was treason, no matter the reasons behind it.

But children should be innocent.

“Uncle, where are you taking me? My mom told me not to go with strangers.”

Crawly didn’t struggle when suddenly picked up; he still wore that dumbfounded expression, gazing cluelessly at the Fire Lizard who lifted him.

The Fire Lizard didn’t answer. He flicked his finger lightly, knocking Crawly out cold.

He really had no expertise when it came to childcare. The questions Crawly asked should be left to those professional Fire Lizards in the rear.

…

The Royal Capital of the Morick Empire featured a very lavish Pyramid structure.

“Azuhan, there have been more and more smuggling cases recently.”

Akala draped herself over the desk, speaking listlessly to the male Fire Lizard opposite her.

This was the headquarters of Merrick’s Shield, and also Akala’s former bedroom.

The Azuhan across from her was flipping through documents. Hearing Akala’s words, he sighed helplessly.

“It’s normal. The Empire’s taxation has reached its limit, and those Black Wizards continue to wreak havoc within the Empire’s borders. The smuggling cases will only increase over time.”

“Is there any solution, Azuhan?” Like a deflated fish, Akala flipped over, “People below have been coming to me with suggestions non-stop. They’d rather pretend to be slaves and infiltrate the inner circles of the Black Wizards than to hunt down smugglers.

Is it that difficult to crack down on smugglers?”

Azuhan looked up at Akala: “It can’t be helped. Slaughtering the defenseless is a burden for most people. Only scum can massacre those who are utterly powerless without feeling stressed.”

With that, Azuhan sighed again.

“Who would have thought that one day having strict recruitment standards would become a burden? If it were Linksa’s Eye from next door, they would probably compete for the job.”

“So what, do we need to recruit some scum to deal with border enforcement too?”

Azuhan shook his head: “No need. If we really recruited scum, it would just prove the Black Wizards’ rumors true. Besides, cracking down on smugglers is a short-term fix, not a solution. As long as the domestic taxes aren’t lowered, the number of smugglers will only increase.”

As he spoke, Azuhan took a document from a drawer and threw it to Akala.

“What’s this?” Akala caught the document blankly and started flipping through it.

Her lazy expression quickly turned serious.

“You’re closing the net?”

Akala put the document down, her gaze sharp as a blade.

Azuhan nodded: “It’s getting late already. My father and Marshal Donar’s plan is complete. What remains is resource mobilization and troop deployment.

During this period, we must ensure the security of the Empire’s internal intelligence.”

“What about the other two Empires?”

“The Minar Empire is still hesitating, while Marshal Balashar of the Linksa Empire has responded, saying he will fully support our operation.”

Akala frowned: “Minar is still hesitating?”

“Yes.” Azuhan spoke indifferently, “The bunch of bastards still hopes to bleed us more through the Wizards, hoping to reap a windfall later.”

Akala couldn’t help but shake her head. With such calculations at a time like this, could their counterattack really achieve the anticipated effects?

“I’ll handle the closing of the net. Some of these Black Wizards are tricky, the common Silver Horns will likely not suffice.”

“Oh ho, our Princess wants to enter the battlefield personally?”

“Azuhan! Address me by my title when we’re working!”

“Ha-ha-ha, may you triumph and return, my Deputy Director.”

…

Nine Star Chamber of Commerce shop.

“Our Black Wizards in the Morick Empire have been hit hard?”

Richard looked at Bob next to him in astonishment.

“Not just Morick,” Bob said with a mysterious face, “our arrangements in Linksa have also suffered significant damage. I heard that several Three Rings Masters have died.”

Richard took a sharp breath. What’s happening to this world?

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Were these Fire Lizards trying to defy heaven?

“No, something’s not right. How could the Fire Lizards suddenly launch such a widespread attack on Black Wizards, unless…”

Richard didn’t finish his sentence because Bob across from him had already voiced his speculation.

“Exactly, the Fire Lizards are beginning their counterattack.”

The 35th year of war, the Fire Lizards’ first wave of counterattack was finally coming.